On his first day back at the White House, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders, including rescinding Biden-era executive orders and withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate accord.
During the campaign, President Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would only become a dictator “on day one” and would use his executive powers to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling. He said he intended to do so.
“After that, I was no longer a dictator,” he said.
Once the executive order was issued on Monday, the accelerated pace became a campaign of shock and awe. In his inaugural address, President Trump promised that these orders amounted to “a complete restoration of America.”
Here’s what we know so far about the most important executive orders and actions signed by President Trump on Monday.
Termination of birthright citizenship
Order: President Trump aims to begin granting automatic citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants within 30 days of today, along with a number of immigration-focused orders.
President Trump said: This order applies if a person’s “mother was in the United States illegally and the father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of the person’s birth,” or “if… ” clearly states that birthright citizenship is restricted. The person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of the person’s birth was legal but temporary. ”
What it means: Birthright citizenship, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, is protected by the 14th Amendment, and any attempt to revoke it faces immediate legal challenge. You may file a claim. The order seeks to deny the issuance of documents recognizing U.S. citizenship to individuals who meet its criteria and were born in the United States within 30 days of the order’s signing.
withdraw from the World Health Organization
Order: President Trump signed an order forcing the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
President Trump said: “The World Health Organization is deceiving us and everyone is deceiving America. That won’t happen anymore,” President Trump said at the signing. He accused the WHO of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and other international health crises.
What it means: The United States will withdraw from the WHO within 12 months and cease all funding for its activities. The United States is the largest donor to the United Nations health agency.
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Gulf of Mexico name change
Order: President Trump ordered two name changes: one in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska’s Denali Mountain.
President Trump said: “President Trump is bringing common sense to government and renewing the pillars of American civilization,” the executive order reads in part.
What it means: President Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the “Gulf of America,” a promise he made at a press conference earlier this month. He will rename Alaska’s Denali Mount McKinley, a change first made by former President Barack Obama in 2015 to reflect Alaska Native traditions and the preferences of many Alaskans.
It doesn’t matter what name is used internationally.
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Electric vehicle target withdrawn
Executive order: President Trump revoked a nonbinding executive order signed by Biden that aimed to make half of all new cars sold by 2030 electric.
President Trump said: “The United States will not interfere with our industry while China pollutes with impunity,” President Trump said Monday afternoon.
What it means: As part of his efforts to roll back the Biden administration’s environmental protection policies, President Trump also promised to roll back auto pollution standards that the Biden administration finalized last spring.
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Reclassify federal employees to make them easier to fire
Executive Order: President Trump’s executive order reclassified thousands of federal employees as political hires, making it much easier to fire them.
Trump says: For years, the president’s aides have been threatening mass government layoffs as part of an attack on the so-called “executive” or “deep” state.
What it means: President Trump will effectively reinstate Schedule F, an executive order he signed in the final year of his first term, seeking to reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees. (Biden rescinded the order.)
President Trump’s top aides are calling for mass government layoffs. In Project 2025, attacks on the deep state and administrative state became a core part of President Trump’s second term. The right’s strategy called for firing civil servants deemed politically unreliable and replacing them with conservatives.
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Declaring a national energy emergency
Executive Order: President Trump has declared a national energy emergency as part of a series of pro-fossil fuel actions and efforts to “unleash” America’s already booming energy production. These included lifting restrictions on drilling in Alaska and lifting a moratorium on gas exports.
Trump says: The order means “you can do whatever you have to do to get out of that problem, and we’re in such an emergency,” Trump said at the White House late Monday. said.
What it means: This declaration will allow the administration to expedite approvals for new fossil fuel infrastructure. The order, part of a broader effort to roll back climate change policy, is likely to face legal challenges.
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Creating a policy that only accepts two genders
Order: President Trump signs an order removing “gender ideology guidance” from federal communications, policies, and forms. This order made it official that there were only two genders: male and female.
President Trump: “Government agencies will stop pretending that men can be women and women can be men when enforcing laws that protect against sex discrimination,” the executive order states. .
What it means: This order reverses Biden-era executive actions on gender identity acceptance.
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Suspend TikTok ban
Order: President Trump signs an executive order temporarily delaying enforcement of the federal government’s ban on TikTok for at least 75 days.
What President Trump said: According to the New York Times, President Trump said at the White House after signing the executive order, “I think there’s a goodwill towards TikTok that I didn’t have to begin with.”
What it means: President Trump has ordered the attorney general not to enforce a law that would require the sale of TikTok. President Trump said the suspension would give the company time to chart an “appropriate future course” to protect national security, rather than abruptly shutting down popular apps. Trump supported banning TikTok during his first term, but later changed his stance, citing his popularity on the app.
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Revoke 78 Biden-era administrative actions
Executive Orders: President Trump ordered the revocation of 78 Biden-era executive orders, including at least a dozen measures supporting racial equality and combating discrimination against gays and transgender people.
Trump says: “I’m reversing nearly 80 destructive and radical executive actions of the previous administration,” Trump told a crowd in Washington after his inaugural address. He also said he would end policies that “socially incorporate race and gender into all aspects of public and private life” and promote a “color-blind, meritocratic” society.
What it means: The order signals a shift in Biden-era policy to prioritize implementing diversity measures across the federal government. President Trump rescinded an order signed by Biden promoting racial equity for underserved communities and combating discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. .
Declaring a state of border emergency
Order: President Trump signed an order at the White House declaring a state of emergency at the U.S. southern border, along with several other immigration-related policies.
President Trump said: “All illegal immigration will immediately cease and we will begin the process of returning millions of criminal aliens to their homes,” President Trump said in his inaugural address.
What it means: This presidential action clears the way for sending U.S. troops to the southern border and fulfills a campaign promise to implement tough immigration policies. There are limited details about how the government planned to implement a series of far-reaching immigration measures that were almost certain to face legal and logistical challenges.
Immigrant communities across the country are bracing for President Trump’s promise to carry out “the largest deportation program in American history” starting as early as Tuesday morning.
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Grant amnesty to the defendant on January 6th
Executive Order: President Trump pardons criminals and commutes sentences related to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. He plans to instruct the Justice Department to dismiss the ongoing lawsuit.
President Trump said: “I’m going to sign this to rescue the J6 hostages,” President Trump said during a rally speech. “We’re going to sign pardons for a lot of people.” President Trump has pardoned about 1,500 defendants charged in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and given six commutations. He said that he had been sentenced.
What it means: President Trump has made a promise to pardon those convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol a central part of his re-election campaign. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently brought up the national anthem sung by inmates at a Washington, D.C., prison. More than 1,500 people have been indicted by the federal government on related charges.
With Trump back in the White House, the Justice Department’s investigation into the January 6 crimes is expected to be halted.
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Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement
Order: President Trump took executive action to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement, along with a letter notifying the United Nations of this decision.
President Trump says: “I am withdrawing immediately from the unfair and unilateral rip-off of the Paris Climate Agreement,” President Trump said during a rally at Capital One Arena. In his inaugural address, President Trump said he would take executive action to “end the Green New Deal.”
What it means: In 2017, President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement. Biden rejoined the party upon his inauguration in 2021. Monday’s order fulfills President Trump’s campaign promise to withdraw from the 2015 global pact to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.
Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is part of President Trump’s broader efforts to roll back climate protections and policies. President Trump has described Biden’s efforts to grow America’s clean energy sector as a “green new scam.”
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Read more of the Guardian’s coverage of Trump
